The DAI was modeled after the Casino in the gardens of the Villa Farnese at Caprarola, and the front hillside stairway was inspired by the Italian Renaissance garden stairs at the Villa d'Este, near Rome, and Italy.

The building was originally constructed with imported roof tiles from Italy, but after they began to crumble from the harsher Ohio winters they were replaced by Ludowici tiles in 1979.

In September, 2005, the Museum became one of eleven galleries in the US to host The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt, the largest collection of ancient artifacts ever to travel outside Egypt.

The art museum is an Italian Renaissance–style building, which sits atop a hill overlooking downtown Dayton.

The institute's highlights are the museum's Asian, 17th-century Baroque, 18th- and 19th-century American, and contemporary art collections.